Four
Rhodes scholars were
presented with honorary
degrees at the ceremony,
as the Rhodes Trust celebrated
100 years since their
scholarships were first
awarded. Four ramps were ‘rolled
out’ for the event
at the House, which is
the base for the newly
established Mandela Rhodes
Foundation.
Says Andrew Cohen, a
director of Roll-a-Ramp: “Being
a listed building, it is
both difficult and time-consuming
to obtain planning permission
to make any physical alterations
to the edifice. Also, as
there isn’t much
room in front of some of
the entrances, a solid
ramp structure could prove
obtrusive and impede other
activities undertaken there.
By choosing Roll-a-Ramp as an access solution,
all of these problems were
avoided, as the ramp is
simply rolled out whenever
needed and, when not in
use, rolled up again for
more convenient storage.”
The main building, which
is renowned for having
one of the greater libraries
in the world for the study
of imperialism and the
former British Empire,
still uses the ramps during
special occasions. It can
provide an appropriate
and reliable access solution
for people with impaired
mobility, and also help
members of staff when transporting
weighty and bulky items
such as books and archived
material.
Complying with the DDA
in most cases, the ramp
will assist facilities
managers all over the
country, who are now responsible
for making reasonable
adjustments
for disabled users, in
line with the latest
amendments to Part M of
the building
regulations.
Sue Maynard Campbell,
managing director of
access consultancy Equal Ability, comments: “We
have been impressed with the attention
to good practice detail, such as the guard
edges,
reflectors and ridged non-slip safety surface
Roll-a-Ramp provides. With its inherent
flexibility, backed up by a 10-year warranty,
Roll-a-Ramp is now the best solution to a wide range
of access barriers that require adjustment
under the Disability Discrimination Act.”
The strong and durable
ramp is available in two
standard widths to any
length required and comes
with carrying straps for
transportation and storage.
